We propose to undertake the first comprehensive investigation--including examination of demographic, economic and other work-related determinants--of occupational sex segregation in historical perspective. The major objective is to develop historically and empirically valid explanations of the processes underlying women's occupational distributions--and particularly, their heavy concentration in certain (generally lower paying and otherwise less desirable) occupations--changes therein, and the relationship of these factors to gender inequality in economic rewards. Since the impact of these factors is likely dependent on the form and timing of industrial development and cultural variations, the research also incorporates a comparative dimension (Britain, France, Italy, and the United States over approximately the past hundred years). For each country, we will use Census information on the numbers of men and women in detailed occupations to construct maximally comparable series of categories. We will first use these data for international comparisons of aggregate levels and changes in sex segregation. But the major analytic focus of the study will be on detailed titles. We will examine the occupational demographic processes of gender specific entry and exit which underlie changes in sex composition. We will also use a series of British Wage Censuses to analyze relationships between occupational income and female concentration. Finally, we will employ historical accounts of strategically selected samples of detailed occupations to code information on the organization and content of work activities. Where data for these various analyses overlap, we will examine simultaneously the influence of these sets of factors. The policy relevance of this research lies in the increasing salience of occupational roles for women's self-concepts and psychological functioning and their relationship to changing occupational opportunities. The study will also make theoretical and empirical contributions to sex stratification research, particularly to issues of the processes which determine gender inequality in the distribution of economic and occupational rewards.